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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24439234">The Forbidden Elements</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenAngiel/pseuds/FallenAngiel'>FallenAngiel</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>No Fandom, Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Elemental Magic, Female Friendship, Female Protagonist, Friendship, Gen, I Don't Even Know, I Tried, Magic, Major Original Character(s), Male-Female Friendship, Minor Original Character(s), No Romance, No Sex, No Smut, Original Character(s), Original Fiction, Original Universe, Prophecy, Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Strong Female Characters, What Was I Thinking?, Why Did I Write This?</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:07:10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,027</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24439234</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallenAngiel/pseuds/FallenAngiel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Millions of years ago, the Main Elementals were six instead of four; Fire, Water, Air, Earth, Darkness, and Light. These were chosen in the womb among regular animals by Mother Nature Herself to be the physical representations of the Elements, said ambassadors being replaced every half millenia.<br/>However, everything changed when one Ambassador of the Darkness, consumed by wrath and greed, decided against the replacement ceremony, causing a great disbalance in the world. Some joined him, others did not, and sooner than later a war emerged between the Elementals, culminating in a fierce battle between the Traitor and Light, which destroyed them both, not reemerging in the next Generation, nor in the one that followed.<br/>To mend the destruction upon Her land, Mother Nature decided to divide the, now, Main Four. Fire, Water, Air and Earth, along with their Ambassadors, existed still, but so were born the ones called the Ramifications, who lived lives five times shorter, and were trained by the Main Four in order to use their abbilities and protect Humanity against the monstruous, viscious critters that were formed after the War.<br/>But what if the Vanished Ones were awakened? What if the war, in reality, wasn't over?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>No Romantic Relationship(s)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>You know that moment when you're having the most pleasent dream before getting rudely interrupted by a morning tremor? And the worst thing of it is that then you don't get to remember that beautiful experience that had felt so real merely two seconds ago, only that it was pretty and perfect so you wish you could remember and go back. Of course, that will never happen because your brain hates you and you can't really do anything about it. Well, long story short, that's exactly how I felt that same morning, and so was greeted by my small resting room as I opened my very tired eyes. My usually well combed black hair was a tangled mess and I had yet again fallen out of my bed. Whose idea was to use those older than time hammocks for people to sleep on, I'd never know. But, oh well, there were many things we'd never know anyway. Since we woke up for the first time, those things had always felt off, as if there was knowledge we were supposed to have, but we just didn't. We knew we weren't toddlers, even if we had never seen them or recalled participating in any sort of growth stage prior to our first awakening, and still we didn't even know our names until the stones claimed us. My name, or at least the name "my" stone claimed me with, is Shadow.</p>
<p>I lazily glanced around my place, groaning one more time before actually getting up and combing my hair with my fingers to make it look at least a tiny bit presentable. My room wasn't the big thing, really; a semi-cilindric hole carved into rock that it's so conveniently made that it couldn't have just been made by nature acting on its own, but its walls being rough enough for it to look either natural or artificial but lazy. It was only decorated with three small shelves, a wardrobe, both seemingly being, too, part of the walls (which furthers my theory of this being manmade but half-finished. Seriously, I have gotten some bad scrapes on my arms and back due to accidentally falling against the wall), the hammock, made out of what seemed to be some sown together pieces of cloth, and a piece of unused firewood I had made into a bedside table because, decoration. All around the walls, crawlers with a characteristic red and blue colour had grown, their fruits and flowers somehow making their own very dim light; Earth said they lived off of the nutrients in the rocks. There was one oval like doorhole that did not come with a door, and since I did not want someone to walk by my room and see me while I'm changing clothes, I made my own one with a broken hammock and dead crawlers. On the piece of firewood I had one, now extinguished, candle that was supposed to illuminate a single mirror above it. All of the rooms in our division were the same shape and size, with around the same objects except for the customizations added as time passed. Might not be the most exciting hole in the world, but it's not like we spend a lot if time it it.</p>
<p>Speaking of not spending a lot of time in my resting chamber, I still had to leave before I missed breakfast, so I headed to my wardrobe to find I only had one training wear left. At least there's only one day left til washing, I thought, taking my sleeping clothings off. Inside the closet was, besides my daily attires, a piece of cloth I was still working on. Like a tapestry, sort of, similar to the ones that decorated the Main Temple, but made into a rug. Once I left my residence, I was barefoot, wearing brown trousers with a thick vine used as a belt, and a plain white non sleeved shirt, with a 'v' like neck held by mere strings, my chest was being held in its place by bandages stolen from the med wing, as it was much more comfortable to train and to move in general without it bouncing around, making my breasts hurt like hell. Most of the girls did that, and hell if it saved lives. </p>
<p>The hallway was not crammed, which already meant I was going to be late. Wasting no more time, I walked faster, my heart speeding its rythm with every step until I got to one of our division's main gardens, that were basically a bunch of vegetation and moss that had grown inside the bottom of a hole that reminded me every time how far below we probably were compared to where the other divisions habitated. Thanks to that, I knew it was still dark outside, which, along with the fresh air that did not smell like sweat and confinement, made me feel instantly energized, as if I was a fierce creature ready for a hunt, running through the strange, red, brown, purple and light blue forests of vines, meat-eating plants, huge roots and soft, mossy floors I had learnt to know and love, although during the dark hours I could only see in grayscales except in the small places lit by the crawlers. Then, after crossing that oasis of life among the dead, rocky surroundings, I went down the stairs that spiraled around a thinner hole in the center of the garden. "Why stairs?" You might ask. "Haven't you just described how deep you were?" Well, on the bottom of the second pit and through yet another tunnel, you'd find the place where the Earth division eats, among other mundane habits, before the real training starts. No one, except Earth herself, knows where the other divisions habitate, though I could never get why. I mean, why couldn't we just visit the others anytime we want? It seemed way too arbitrary, but whatever.</p>
<p>Going down those stairs was menancing enough, it felt like one could fall down towards their demise with every step but never really reaching such a fate (which, of course, was a relief). Then, once I got to the base after what seemed like two eternities I was happy to feel the heat dancing through my body from my bare feet, and smelled the usual, welcoming scent of humidity and warmth that was so similar to the one in the hallway, yet this one was actually good. I had learnt to get used to it, sure, but I could still remember myself not many years before, running to make the priorly tortuous trip shorter, though hurting my then fragile feet in consequence. Now, I smiled widely, both from the rather nostalgic memory and from the certainty that my unnecessarily long trip through the lonely tunnels was about to end, as the tunnel opened into a huge cavern almost as big as the main training arena, full of sleep deprived, chatting teenagers that enjoyed a breakfast that consisted on meat, eggs and fruits, along with milk or crawler berry juice (weird how a thing that glows isn't poisonous) on tables and benches that were made with the same rock as the floor and walls. The only illumination sources in that large room were neatly set torches that never seemed to consume as they hanged from the harsh and irregular wall, their light being reflected by millions of colourful crystals, that gave the simple dining area a mystic, magical air.</p>
<p>As soon as I looked around, I was able to spot a girl waving at me from a table, her forearm and her stone, along with other characteristical features, made it easy to recognize any of the kids from any division. The waving one, for example, was called Molten. Molten was a brownish sandstone skinned girl, about an year younger than me, as well as one of my best friends. Her hair was the colour of ebony (what was ebony? No idea, but Earth mentioned it once and it sounds pretty dark) as well, with reddish and blonde highlights. Her forearms, however, were compleatly black like the remains that are left from a bunch of firewood after the big bonfires were turned off to signal the end of an assembly, with bright orange and red lines that seemed to flow like the magma did, peaceful under the deepest caves and caverns. Her stone was what Earth had called an amber stone, with a beautiful, warm vibe similar to the one her eyes gave, just like the Element Molten symbolized. She was dangerous beauty incarnated.</p>
<p> Anyway, I waved back, getting to that table as soon as possible just after having my share of meat and juice. Beside Molten, a short, blonde boy sat, eating berries with milk. Sandy didn't feel like a common name for a boy, but it also felt quite right, as it explained his ability in a pretty simple way. I, however, liked to call him San, and he seemed to enjoy that nickname as well. San was rather quiet, not speaking more than needed. In spite of his rather weak appearance, not being the best in hand to hand combat, his gift made up for it big time. After all, who would want to be enemies with a guy who can control something as common as  sand? A reddish, glimmering sandstone emerged from the middle of his torso, cold to the touch in spite of the heat of that place. His forearms were contrastingly tan against his almost paper white skin, black lines like Fire's arm spirals, flowing like the burning tar rivers deep underground.</p>
<p>"What took you so long?" Molten said as I sat down, her head now supported by her hand. "Seriously, a Shrieker could have bitten your legs off and you would still be sleeping."<br/>"Shut it, I'm sourprised you got here before me without getting lost." I responded with a grin, dawning on the juice. It wasn't really that tasty, but it was better than milk. <br/>Molten gasped at this, pretending to be offended. "Take that back." She ordered, San immediatly rolling his eyes at our morning routine.<br/> "Make me." My voice was paused as we stared into our respective set of eyes, our faces merely inches from eachother as if we were taking part of a non verbal staring contest. No one knew who started it this time, but in the end we were both trying to contain our laughter. Molten had won that morning. San only let a bit of air puff out of his nose, probably asking himself when would we stop doing that every single time we met for breakfast.</p>
<p> So I kept on eating and conversating with my friends as usual, speaking of how crappy the food was sometimes, about our scores in different areas of training, and Molten specificly mentioned how hot a guy from the Water district, Tide I think was his name, was. In spite of all, I knew my mind was absent, not really paying so much attention to the conversation at all after the first few minutes. To be honest, once I finished eating I only wanted breakfast time to be over so we could get out of the caves, (don't get me wrong, I loved them, really) and go to the main training area where I would be allowed to set my newfound energy free without many real consequences by fighting, either hand to hand or using our abbilities, with the other kids from the other three divisions.</p>
<p> Nevertheless, no matter how much I wanted to, I found myself unable to lie about it, at least to myself, my mind and soul.</p>
<p> There was another reason why I wanted to get out of that rocky place.</p>
<p> I wanted to see him.</p>
<p>                                        • • •</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Man, at this speed it'll take 5 years to actually finish this thing.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>A huge pit of sand. That was what the main training Arena was. We all knew the way there by heart, so there was no rush, not even the normal uncertainty one might feel about getting compleatly lost even when the path seemed like it had not changed in thousands, no, millions of years. The worst that could happen was either one or two wild Blindshriekers wandering out of their homes in the deepest caverns for a good hunt, always ready to tear any distracted animal that crossed their path to shreads. </p><p>Huge but agile, those beasts were around three times the size of an average trainee, with wide shoulders and long legs that ended in viscious claws made to dig tunnels among the earth and harsh rock and teeth built to tear limbs off and to inject a venom that paralized its victim muscle by muscle, causing them a slow, agonizing death by either suffocation or their heart stopping, that if they haven't beed devoured by the beast, of course. None of us had been that unlucky yet, or at least we haven't been told of any, but the huge possibility of an accident like that made the order of us having to move around the forests in groups of at least three exist. In fact, those beasts were the reason why Water had a missing forearm, having lost it while saving two children from one of them, or at least those were the stories and rumors Her and Wind's district's oldest members spread all the time. Personally, I think it's true.</p><p>So, in company of Molten and San, I got out of the caverns and into the forest. As opposed to Earth's gardens, which were short, dark, humid and hot enough to make you sweat profusely on the warmer monthes, the upper forest was, mainly, a tall, cllourful mass of saturated shades of light blue, pink and brown, along with berries and flowers of bright hues I wouldn't be able to describe with mere words. All I can say is that, as we climbed up, we were not greeted by the beautiful landscape I just told you about, but by glaring lights that were blinding to us in contrast of the caverns. We groaned in pain, covering our burning eyes that were way too accustomed to dim lighting, or sometimes even to pich blackness.</p><p>"Last one who gets to the Arena gets eaten!" Molten exclaimed once we recovered, yet so quickly one could hardly tell what she meant, just before sprinting into the foreat at top speed while looking at us both, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Said glint was gone as fast as she arrived once she collided hard against a tree, which wasn't much of a sourprise, to be honest, still, the three of us found ourselves clinging into our pained stomachs in laughter soon after her incident. But the fun stopped once a deep rumble, more like a booming, yet muffled roar than the growl it was, announced its intimidating prescence. The sound seemed to come from every direction, and soon our backs were pressed against eachother in order to defend ourselves from every angle, at least until droplets of something atarted to fall onto our foreheads like a peculiar leak. They burnt, true, but San seemed to be the only one who noticed them or what they were associated with, being the only one who looked up.<br/>He screamed, and we all split up from our former posotion, looking up as well. It was above us, acidic drool dripping from its long snout just like a punished student would let happen while seeing or imagining the wating caverns after two full days of fast, having to live and reflect in the Temple about their misdeeds. The sight of the Shrieker was a hideous one to look at, its eyeless head was pure bone, this one parading cracks and scratches, product of several battles it would've thought in the span of its long life. It had a corpulent body, covered with a protective layer of dirty, gray fur filled with tar and knots that only added to the thickness and strengh of the skin below, probably the home of countless parasytes that mught've been just as dangerous as the critter itself.</p><p>As the Blindshrieker jumped down, the ground shaking below it, its six thick but long legs sank into the long, shimmering grass, and the soft, moust earth. Unlike the rest of its body, its legs and tail were scaly, almost black with some lighter spots. However, the most distinct part of it was the tip of the tail, with its small, bright light and equally bright, colourful feathers. During a lesson, Fire had tought us that the beast grew those and then gendly swayed them above its head in order to hypnotize its prey, make it so cought up with the beauty of it so it wouldn't run away in fear. And now that I saw it face to face, it was hard not to know why. The light got closer and closer thr second, going left to right in a soothing speed. I almost felt the urge, no, the NEED to go closer and be engulfed by the light, to feel the softness of the feathers. I would be happy if I did so, if I felt the colour in my every pore.</p><p>More suddenly than I would've preferred to, that beauty was gone to not return as the warm wight of another body pushed me to the mushy floor. I wanted to push that weigh, wanted to hurt it for keeping me away of the glory of those specs. Did it not want my happiness? I opened my eyes, shooting a deadly glare to whatever held me, only to see Molten's face, the distance between it and my own being mere centimeters. In the backhround, unfocused, the Shrieker shook its head. It had pounced, but crashed against the tree before it could get me.</p><p>"Let's go!!" Molten's voice quivered, I've never heard such a fearsome tone come out of her, and that's how I was fully aware of the danger before us. We got up, my brain still woozy, but luckily my friends were there to help me. And so we ran, because fighting with fear in our hearts would be too risky. We heard the booming thumps of that thing's dart right behind us, closer each second. I did not want to die, nor did I want my friends to do so, so I pressed on until I heard a high pitched scream at my left, and San's presence was not beside me anymore. We turned around just in time to see the Shrieker's teeth lift San by the shirt and toss him against a mound of rocks. Another yell sounded, though who pronounced it was unknown. Molten and I ran towards the beast in a desperate attempt to stop it, it a meter or two away from tearing our friend apart. But it might as well have not been done. We gasped, covering our mouthes and stopping abruptly as a huge bird-like thing, its feathers made out of never estinguishing flames, striked the Shrieker on its side just as it pounced a second time. </p><p>We were frozen as it ocurred, tears welling over my eyes, and probably on Molten's as well. A puddle of a dark, smelly and seemingly boiling fluids was forming below the creature, gurgling from varios gashes as it thrashed on the floor, the burning animal burying its claws on the furry stomach, and I couldn't help but to think the nightmare the bird's nostrils must've been going through. Finally, shock still piercing through us both, we stepped in, following the unspoken agreement of her trying to help end the Shrieker's life while I checked on San. I kneeled beside him. His eyes were closed and his face was pale, blackish crimson staining his hairs and the rock under him. His shirt, too, was broken beyond repair, destroyed by saliva dripping teeth that burnt the skin of the poor guy's back. I checked his pulse, whose functioning made me sigh in relief. Behind me, loud screams could be heard, and so I turned my head, semi sure of San's safety. I felt a scalding heat on my face as soon as I did so, and for good reasons; a massive crater was formed right under the beast, and I could see its tangled, almost rigid mass burning thanks to the magma erupting off of it. For a second, knowing it was going to die, the Blindshrieker turned its head towards me. It couldn't see me, but I still fell its non existant eyes on me, trying to tell me a secret message that I needed to know. I stared back, not at the tip of its tail but at its bony head, its foul mouth and its sharp teeth, as if it was thr only thing in the universe. It opened its mouth wide, weather to eat me or to speak I couldn't have actually known, although the most probable was the prior. But it collapsed agaist itself before the confirmation could arrive, the ghost of unborn words heavy in the air.</p><p>I looked up once again. The grass was black and dead around the horrid monster, a hole through its body that I did not want to stare at for too long. If the smell was rancid before, now it made my mutilated breakfast mixed with bile and other acids rise up my throat to only be supressed once again. Not the time for that. Molten was shaking, and with good reason. That crater was the biggest one I've ever seen her make! She looked at me, panting, and only with her eyes I knew she wouldn't be able to keep on standing for long. I sprinted towards her and placed her arm over my shoulders, curling mine around her waist.</p><p> "Let's rest by the rock." I suggested. "Who cares if we're late?"</p><p>"I do." Replied a voice that was neither San nor Molten. I froze for a second, almost forgetting the fourth presence, before turning towards its source, the flaming bird from before standing gracefully beside the fallen varmint, now blindingly bright as it grew in size, its red feathers suspended in the air and turning into small piles of ashes as dark as the caverns. Once we were able to see without feeling as if our eyes were replaced with bonfires, the bird was no more, instead there being a medium-sized circle or burnt grass and ash, a middle aged man standing in the middle of it.</p><p>He was tall, taller than I could ever aspire to be, His skin resembling the one of a brown garnet, but His hair was gray from decades, maybe centuries of hard work. Nontheless, in spite of His wise red irises and His notorious wrinkles, an evident spark of youth escaped from inside Him. With only one glance, even though in the present day He had grown sagacious and learned, it was evident that in His youth He had been a man who craved for the heat of the battleground. An impulsive forest fire that had now become a tame blaze, which did not make Him less dangerous by any means.</p><p>"Let's go. Shadow, help Molten get to the Arena. I will carry Sandy to the Temple so he can heal and rest"</p><p>"Will he be alright?" I couldn't help but to ask, not returning to the path yet. I could feel my friend's ragged breaths beside my ear, her legs shaking slightly. She would collapse if I let her go. "And I think Molten's too tired to train today-"</p><p>"He'll be fine." He interrupted, sternly staring at me. His voice was calm, oddly so, and with those signs I knew it was not the time to have an argument. "And she will, too. Now go. The smell will disuade any other Shrieker from coming out today, you should be safe."</p><p>He transformed once more, and this time I was cautious enough to shield my eyes from the scalding  glare. Once I opened them again, neither Him nor San were there anymore. </p><p>I looked at Molten, and we both nodded at eachother, resuming our now slower trip towards the Arena.</p><p>• • •</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Wooo! Okay, Finally started this thing, who knows how much it will last. Hopefully, quarentene will bless me with inspiration and I'll continue.</p>
<p>See ya!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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